PARENTAL LOVE

1 John 3:1: How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

I knew what love was prior to becoming a mom. I loved my family. I loved my friends. I’d even fallen in love a few times. But once I gave birth to my daughter, my heart experienced love in a way it had never before. From the first time I looked at her, my love for her was indescribable. I knew that I would sacrifice everything I had to make sure she was safe and taken care of. I knew that I would go out of my way to give her what she wanted in life. I knew that nothing would remove my love for her. She was beautiful to me – probably the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen in my life. And not just because of her exterior but because she was a part of me. My heart beams with pride whenever she masters something new. My heart aches whenever she is in pain. My heart literally melts into a puddle onto the floor when she tells me she loves me. I cannot accurately put into words the depths of my love for her. And even when I have to discipline her, it doesn’t diminish my love for her – it reinforces my love for her by teaching her right from wrong. When I look at her – her personality, her movements, her physical traits – it feels like I’m looking at a mirrored reflection of myself.

I am blessed to be a mom because it’s given me a glimpse of God’s love for us:

1. God made us in His image and when He sees us, He seems Himself:
Genesis 1:26-27: Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female, He created them.”

2. God will give to us when we ask:
Luke 11:13: If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.

3. God feels our pain and can recount all of our hurts:
Ps 56:8: You keep track of my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. Are they not recorded in your book?

4. God will not remove His love from us:
Rom 8:38-39: For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

5. When God disciplines us, it’s not because of the lack of His love but rather because of the depths of His love – He wants us to know right from wrong:
Hebrews 12:6-7: For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

6. God gives us the chance to repent of our wrongdoings and will forgive us when we sin:
1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

7. God’s unending love for His children is displayed in His ultimate sacrifice:
John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever shall believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

God made us in His image and created us to fellowship with Him as his children. When we begin to view God as our Heavenly Father, we begin to understand his love for us. How great is the Father’s love for His children!